Harness-saddle pad



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. WHITMAN. HARNESS SADDLE PAD.

No. 483,754. Patented Oct. 4, 1892.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R. WHITMAN.

HARNESS SADDLE PAD..

No. 483,754. Patented Oct. 4, 1892.

PATENT OFFICE.

RUSSELL WHITMAN, OF

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

HARNESS-SADDLE PAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 483,754, dated October 4, 1892.

Application filed August 5, 1891.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUssnLL WHITMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, Alameda county, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Harness- Saddle Pads; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to certain improvements in harness-saddle pads, or gig-saddles, as they are termed.

It consists in certain details of construction, which will be more fully explained by referencetotheaccompanyingdrawings,in which Figure 1 is a View of the independent padded housing with its fastenings. Fig. 2 is a view showing the device in place. Fig. 3 is a view of the bridge and terret attachment for the supplemental pad. Fig. eis a perspective view showing the parts put together without the leather covering. Fig. 5 is a separate view of the shaft.

In the construction of harness-saddles it is customary to make them with pads permanently and rigidly fixed under the saddle upon each side of the center, these pads being adapted to rest upon the back of the horse on each side of the backbone or withers, so as to protect the latter from chafing and injury by the saddle. The back-straps are also attached to the saddle or extensions therefrom.

In my invention A A are two plates of metal having the sides turned upwardly, so as to make the upper surfaces of the plates concave and provide a stiffeningflange along the edges. These plates are covered with leather, which is extended so as to form a flexible connection between them. Upon the inner surfaces of these plates are formed the pads C, which are stuffed with any suitable padding material by making a transverse opening in the outside covering leather of the plates eX- tending transversely across just at the lower ends of the plates, as shown at D. The padding material is introduced through these slits beneath the plates and within the cushion which is formed under them, and after the pads have been properly filled these slits are sewed up and closed. The stitching is easily taken out at any time to renew or repair the pads when they become hard or lose their shape.

Serial No. 401,788. (No model.)

These pads may be reniovably attached to the main harness-saddle E in either of two ways: First, when they are to be applied to an ordinary harness-saddle, to which it is desired to give a better fit upon the horses back, the padding which is permanently aifixed to any saddle is partially or wholly removed. The supplemental pads are then placed beneath the saddle and attached thereto by a flexible leather string forming a loop in front, which hooks over the water-hook G- of the saddle, while the rear ends, which are carried back through the housing, are tied to the loop or ring I at the rear of the saddle. Straps J secure the outer ends of the pad around the body of the main saddle.

In the second construction, which is em ployed in the manufacture of new saddles, no permanent pads are placed under the saddletree to bear on the horses back, but bridges K are fixed upon the backs of the metal plates A of the supplemental saddle-pads, and beneath these bridges the shafts L extend. These shafts are connected with the terrets by means of a standard N while through the ends of plates 0 screws are passed to secure the plates to the shafts L. These plates extend transversely across the lower ends and outside of the main saddle-tree, and have enlargements in the center into which the terrets M are secured, these enlargements being enough thicker than the rest of the plate to provide a firm support for the shanks of the terrets. The screws which secure the shafts pass through the ends of these plates 0 and into the flattened perforated ends of the shafts L, as shown in Fig. 5. By this construction the terrets are fixed in the center of the plates 0 and the outer ends of the plates are se cured so as to allow the back-band a free movement beneath the plates 0 and across the saddle-tree.

As the bridges K and shafts L are secured to the backs of the supplemental saddle-plates A, it will be manifest that these plates and pads will be allowed a certain amount of rocking motion within the exterior saddle, and the pads will thus adjust and adapt themselves to the shape of the horses back, making a perfect fit for any horse without especial construction for that purpose.

The back-strap Q passes under the terretplates 0 and between the screws or rivets which secure their ends, and it thus has a freedom of motion so that it can slide from side to side, and thus adapt itself to irregular movements of the shafts, which, especially in heavy teams, ordinarily pull the saddle from one side to the other, and thus chafes the horses back.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A harness-saddle consisting of the saddletree, supplemental pad plates having upturned edges and'pads secured to them, and a flexible continuous connection between the plates, bridges attached to the backs of said hand.

RUSSELL WHITMAN. Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, J. A. BAYLEs. 

